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The Kitty Kat Kaper
"The Kitty Kat Kaper" is the 07th of 35 Darkwing Duck comic stories published in the Disney Adventures magazine. It precedes "Cat in a Hot Tin Suit" and "Fluffy's Reign of Terror!" in the Fluffy Trilogy. Summary One evening in St. Canard, Darkwing Duck is called to the St. Canard Research Center by J. Gander Hooter. The director of SHUSH introduces the crimefighter to Doctor Meddle, who is in need for help. His primary test subject, a cat named Fluffy, has been abducted the previous night. Meedle hands over a ransom note left behind to Darkwing, which reads "If yu evr want to se yor kute litl cudly kity agan, brng at eit ayt 8 millun dolrs to 444 forth stret, leev it in grrbag can--- don tri anythn funy!". Darkwing thinks it's a code and rushes off to find Fluffy, ignoring Launchpad's suggestion it's just typo-riddled and leaving before Meddle and Hooter can tell him one important detail, namely the research Fluffy is used for. Darkwing leaves a red satchel in one of the designated carbage cans and stakes out disguised a a hot dog seller. However, already with his first customer Darkwing gets distracted. He tries to get rid of the child by serving him a way too hot sausage, but it is enough for him to fail to spot the cat taking the satchel away. The boy's father shows up next to teach Darkwing a lesson with a well-aimed punch that sends him face-first into the carbage can. Darkwing notices that the satchel is gone and frantically searches for a clue in the trash once Launchpad helps him out. He does, in fact, conveniently find one: a list of monetary contributions for some purpose by seven members of his rogues gallery: Quackerjack, Liquidator, Megavolt, Bushroot, Tuskerninni, Moliarty, and Steelbeak. As per the list, the seven villains are found in a room in a nearby hotel. Darkwing crashes in, only to find that they have zero interest in him because the Miss Corn Fritters Pageant is starting on television and it's pay-per-view and they paid and they're going to watch it. Darkwing is taken aback because he was unaware it is on now and readily agrees to pay ten bucks to get to watch along. Some hours later, the pageant finishes and everyone gets back to business, which for the villains means attacking Darkwing Duck. As the seven lunge for him and Launchpad, Darkwing lets his sidekick deal with the mob to concentrate on capturing Liquidator in a sponge. Tuskerninni comes after him, but Darkwing throws the sponge in his path to get him to slip and trip into the other villains. Launchpad is still being menaced by Megavolt, but the sponge flies into his collar, short-circuiting him. Darkwing calls the cops on them, but even he has to admit there's no sign they have anything to do with Fluffy's disappearance. As he ponders the likelihood a new villain is his true opponent this time, Launchpad spots the cat that had stolen the satchel still around. The two heroes, more than a little miffed, pursue it as it runs off into a dark house some streets further They enter it through the window, but suddenly the lights turn on and a voice greets them from the chair at the desk. Because no one is to be seen, Darkwing first thinks :aunchpad is pranking him and then concludes his opponent is the invisible man. The voice tells him to look over the desk, revealing the opponent is Fluffy himself. Fluffy explains the two heroes Meddle's experiments bestowed him with a super-I.Q. and thus the ability to talk. He further elaborates all that Darkwing has done so far is according to his plans, with the only flaw being the crimefighter's not been taken down yet. Still, that is easily solved by the presence of all of Fluffy's feline minions inside the house. As the cats show their claws, Darkwing pulls a watergun on them, making them run for their dryness. The heroic duo goes after Fluffy specifically and follows him into an alley. Once there, Fluffy reveals that this is once again part of his plan and goads them to look behind them, where his minions have gathered for a follow-up attack now that the watergun is empty. Fluffy gloats at the prospect of the two's soon-to-be demise, thereby failing to notice the approaching compact street sweeper. He's caught in its cleaning tools and temporarily incapacitated, allowing Darkwing and Launchpad to capture him in Darkwing's cape. The minions supposedly disperse after this and the crimefighters take Fluffy to jail, ignoring the criminal cat's promise he'll escape. They then return to the St. Canard Research Center to lecture Meddle on research ethics. Meddle agrees that his experiments were silly and asks if he should stop his work with the gorilla too, to which he receives a resounding "YES!". Cast Quotes : "There are few things in this life that you can count on! The sun will always set in the west! Your flight will always be delayed! Getting smacked with a big stick will always hurt! And Darkwing Duck will always come through!" :— Darkwing on the facts of life. : "This plan is positively puncture-proof! We simply set the satchel safely in this specific spot, then secure a stronghold in sight of same and spy any suspicious scavengers!" : "Superior sentence, D.W.!" :— Darkwing and Launchpad. : "Hah! I knew it! Those silly thugs always slip up! And I'm the one with the mop!" : "Do you mean that you cause them to slip up, or that you're there to clean up afterward?" : "Remember what I taught you about heroic metaphors and their usage! Now, given the sequence of events, which meaning is more appropriate?" : "Let's see... The crime has already occurred, so you couldn't have caused them to slip up! ...And that means you're here to clean up!" : "Very good, Launchpad! We'll make a leading man out of you yet!" :— Darkwing and Launchpad. : "Beware, duck! I'm going to edit you for television! Crucial scenes shall be cut!" :— Tuskerninni (director's cut). : "Uhnn! Rosebud!" :— Tuskerninni (director's cut). : "Don't worry! You won't know watt hit you!" : "Owch! Owch! Stop, please! Puns can kill!" : "You didn't make fun of Tuskerninni's puns!" :— Megavolt and Launchpad. : "I'll bet that's it! Some evil genius has come to St. Canard, drawn no doubt to match wits with my extraordinary brain and skill! We are obviously dealing with an ego of epic proportions!" : "Obviously!" :— Darkwing and Launchpad. : "Call me crazy, but it seems to me that cute kitty just threatened us!" : "Not only that, he can talk!" : "Sa-aay! That's right! Cats can't talk!" :— Darkwing and Launchpad. : "Thankth to Doctor Meddle, I have a mega geniuth I.Q.! It wath I who led you here! It wath I who planted the thandwich retheipt! It wath I who..." : "Misspelled the ransom note!" : "Quiet! I've only been a geniuth for a few dayth! Bethides, you try to type with no fingers!" :— Fluffy has no time for Darkwing's mockery. Notes References * Tuskerninni's utterance of "Rosebud!" upon defeat is a reference to Charles Foster Kane's death scene at the start of the 1941 movie Citizen Kane. Milestones * This comic marks the first appearance of Fluffy, Meddle, and the St. Canard Research Center. Errors * The cat who steals the satchel is not supposed to be Fluffy, but a subordinate. The art does not show any significant difference between them. * Megavolt's reference to Tuskerninni's puns is odd in the published version of the comic, as Tuskerninni makes no puns. The director's cut restores the puns. * Fluffy tells Darkwing to look behind him to see he has walked into an ambush, but in the published version of the comic Darkwing neither looks back nor is there an ambush behind him. The director's cut fixes this. Other * This comic story was reprinted in Cartoon Tales #9: Capes and Capers in 1992. * In 2011, when the [[Darkwing Duck (Boom! Studios)|Boom! Studios run of Darkwing Duck]] was ongoing, Doug Gray made blogposts about his experiences writing "The Kitty Kat Kaper" and "Cat in a Hot Tin Suit". These blogposts explain the errors and oddities in the comics and include both the comics as published and "director's cut" versions that contain missing pieces of dialogue and sketches of improved art.Darkwing Duck "The Kitty Kat Kaper" at THE EYE OF MONGOMBLOG * The story of "The Kitty Kat Kaper" was retold in 2016 in the Joe Books comic issue "The Kitty Cat Caper!". References External links * The Kitty Kat Kaper at I.N.D.U.C.K.S. Category:Disney Adventures